Former city councilman Wagner now considers mayoral primary run

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Jack Wagner, former city councilman and state auditor general, said he may enter the Democratic race for mayor after all.

Mr. Wagner, of Beechview, previously said he would sit out the primary but had held out the possibility of running in the fall as an independent candidate.

His possible shift comes amid a dynamic change in the mayor's race.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, heavily criticized amid a federal investigation of the police department, announced Friday that he had abandoned his re-election bid. That left Councilman Bill Peduto and Controller Michael Lamb the only declared candidates.

Mr. Wagner, who was barred by state law from seeking a third term as auditor general and who now is visiting Israel, said in a statement today that he "has not totally assessed the situation in Pittsburgh but will in the coming days. I am now looking at running in the primary."

"The one fact that has not changed is that Pittsburgh needs leadership," he said.